The M47 Patton is the second American tank to be named after General George S. Patton, commander of the U.S. Third Army during World War II and one of the earliest American advocates of tanks in battle. It was a development of the M46 Patton tank mounting an updated turret,[4] and was in turn further developed as the M48 Patton.

Contents

History

The M47 was the U.S. Army's and Marine Corps' primary tank, intended to replace the M46 Patton and M4 Sherman medium tanks.[5] The M47 was widely used by U.S. Cold War allies, both SEATO and NATO countries, and was the only Patton series tank that never saw combat while in US service.

Although roughly similar to the later M48s and M60s, these were completely new tank designs. Many different M47 Patton models remain in service internationally. The M47 was the last US tank to have a bow-mounted machine gun in the hull.

Design

Although a new power plant corrected the mobility and reliability problems of the M26 Pershing, the subsequently renamed M46 was considered a stopgap solution that would be replaced later by the T42 medium tank. However, after fighting erupted in Korea, the Army decided that it needed the new tank earlier than planned. It was deemed that there was not enough time to finish the development of the T42 and fix various problems that were likely to emerge in the new design. The final decision was to produce another interim solution, with the turret of the T42 mounted on the familiar hull of the M46. The composite tank, developed by the Detroit Arsenal, was named the M47 Patton and entered production in 1951. Its main gun was the M36 90 mm gun with an M12 optical rangefinder fitted. The secondary armament consisted of two .30cal Browning machine guns, one in the bow of the hull and one coaxial machine gun in the turret, and a .50cal Browning M2 on a pintle mount on the turret roof. The M47 was the last American-designed tank to include a bow machine gun. The T42 turret had a larger turret ring than the M26/M46 turret, and featured a needle-nose design, which improved armor protection of the turret front (similar to the M60A1 tank of 1962), an elongated turret bustle and storage bin which protruded halfway across the engine deck, and the turret sides were sloped to further improve ballistic protection; this gave the turret a decidedly lozenge-shaped profile. It also featured the M12 stereoscopic rangefinder, which was designed to improve first-round hit probability but proved difficult to use; the rangefinder protruded from both sides of the upper turret front, which would be a feature of American tanks until the advent of the M1 Abrams in 1980.[6]

Production began at the Detroit Tank Arsenal in June 1951 before the M47 was standardized for production. Delays in the shipment of the M12 rangefinder and other problems due to the rushed production schedule caused a protracted testing period, and the first M47s were not fielded to the 1st and 2nd Armored Divisions until summer 1952. Standardized in May 1952, the M47 Patton's production ran until November 1953; Detroit built 5,481 tanks, and American Locomotive Company (Alco) produced 3,095, for a total production run of more than 9,000 M47 Pattons.[7]

Deployment

With the arrival of the improved M48 Patton in 1953, the M47 was declared 'limited standard' in 1955, and examples in tank units were replaced with the M48 series soon after.[8] After being declared obsolete in 1957, M46s and M47s were retained in active duty infantry division battlegroup assault gun platoons (four tanks each, one platoon per battlegroup, for a total of 20 tanks per division) until replaced with the light truck-mounted SS-10 anti-tank guided missile in the early 1960s.[9] M47s were used by the Reserves for a relatively short time, soon being replaced by early production M48 Patton series tanks; thus, most of the M47s were exported in the late 1950s.[8][10]

The US Marine Corps also fielded M47s starting in late 1952; after the Korean War, all seven Marine tank battalions, three divisional, two reserve training, and two force level, each fielded M47s. But these were soon replaced with M48A1 Pattons and M103 heavy tanks, with the last M47s being retired in 1959.[11]

US Army M47s remaining in storage were expended as targets; in the 1970s, they were used for the M60A1's 105mm gun with devastating effect. The 105 mm HEAT round would penetrate the frontal armor with ease. Many M47s in like-new condition met their fate in this manner, showing the M60 crews first hand the effects of modern tank weapons on conventional steel armor.

The M47 was used by the Turkish Army, in the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in July and August 1974, with an estimated 200 Pattons involved in the action. At least one operational M47, number 092273, was captured by the Cyprus National Guard and remained in service until 1993. The example is currently stored at the camp of the 25 EMA in Paphos as a training and memorial exhibit.[15]

Iran used M47s against Iraq in the Iran-Iraq war. Iranian M47s performed poorly against Iraqi tanks such as T-62s and T-72s. Large numbers of M47 tanks were captured by the Iraqis.[16]

In the 1980s and early 1990s, the Turkish army used M47 tanks against PKK guerrillas in Turkey and Iraq. Turkish M48A5 variants replaced all remaining M47s in the late 1990s.

Croatia used M47s against the Serbs in the Croatian War of Independence but their performance was inferior to that of the Soviet-designed T-55s. The M47s were retired from service immediately after the war, and are now used as gunnery/missile targets during military exercises.

In the Somalian Civil War, some of the country's large pre-war M47 collection may have seen service in the initial stages, but these aging vehicles soon ceased operations due to a lack of spares and maintenance.

France deployed a squadron of M47s against Egypt during the Suez crisis in 1956.

Variants

M46E1 – pilot model, M46 hull with T42 turret, fitted with the M36 90 mm Gun, and was longer to incorporate a radio, ventilator, and featured a stereoscopic rangefinder; only one built[17]

M47 – main production version, M46 hull modified with redesigned glacis, reduction from five to three track return rollers per side, longer mufflers on rear fenders; 8,576 built[18]

M47M – The product of an improvement program started in the late 1960s, the M47M featured the engine and fire control elements from the M60A1. The assistant driver's position was eliminated in favor of additional 90 mm ammunition. Not used by the US; over 800 vehicles were produced for Iran and Pakistan[19]

M47E – Spanish M47M austere version (kept original FCS).

M47E1 – Second Spanish upgrade batch with rearranged main gun ammunition storage and crew heater. Both new and upgraded M47Es. 330 converted.

Sabalan – An Iranian upgraded version of the US M47M, It has side skirts and a newly built turret fitted with a 105-mm gun, laser range finder, new fire control system and communication equipment.[20][21]

Republic of Korea – Acquired a total of 531 vehicles—463 for the army between 1956 and 1959, and 68 for the marine corps between 1963 and 1964—mainly from the USFK. Around three-quarters of the M47s replaced their 90mm M36 guns with the 90mm M41 guns that became available when their M48s upgraded their guns from 90mm M41 to 105mm M68. The last vehicle was out of service in 2007.